 |
| Lighting Through Parents |
I was no exception. To this day I can remember how my parents lectured me about the friends I kept, ban me to visit the homes of certain individuals, and carefully monitored my whereabouts. Being the rebel I was, I often thought of this as overly restrictive and huge trouble.
Now, having grown up to see the life that some of these individuals now lead, I am truly grateful for their insight and guidance. But, we are all adults here and are free to do as we please.
You might even reason that you are your own person and 18 make your own decisions.
But I strongly encourage you to consider your associates wisely for the following reasons:
• Your associates influence the way you think.
• Your associates influence the way you are viewed.
How Your Associates Influence the Way You Think
Everyone and I mean everyone you regularly associate with will have some influence on your life. This is true whether you are aware of it or not.
As humans, we are constantly trying to make sense of this reversed world by carefully examining the people around us. In fact, some scientists told theory that we meet an average of the five people we most regularly associate with.
The question now is, who do you want to be? If you choose to associate with people who are content with doing just the basics of life to get by, this notion can easily seep into your mind and affect how intensely you work towards your goals.
 |
| People Trying To Demotivate |
On the other, what about surrounding yourself with people who are constantly pushing themselves to do better?
Think about it this way, if you wanted to grow flowers in your garden, would you fill your garden with poison, stop watering it and hide it away from sunlight? No, absolutely not.
That would not produce the kind of results you are looking for. So why would you surround yourself with people who want to poison your mind so to speak?
These may be well-meaning people who genuinely care about you, but they do not understand the fire that burns within you.
They have never been as determined to succeed as you are and will never, ever understand what motivates you to keep going.
As a result, they pursue negative remarks that are your dreams and slowly change the way you feel about achieving your goals.
 |
| Keep Up Motivation |
To keep yourself motivated, you have to be confident that your goals are achievable and associates like these will slowly sow doubts in your mind.
Even if these individuals do not orally challenge your dreams, the way they live their life will do little to keep you motivated. Their way of life can either positively or negatively reinforce your desire to reach your goal. Constantly seeing them underachieve or delay attitude will dampen the flames that motivate you to keep going.
On the other hand, when your close friends are always trying to find new ways to be bigger and better, you too will begin to feel the desire to improve your current performance as well.
When your close associates achieve their goals, your own goals will become that much more real to you. And the closer your goals are to your heart, the more motivated you will be to achieve them.
How Your circle Influence the Way You are Viewed
The world of business that exists today is very closely connected. Your achievements are very closely tied to the achievements of your partners. Your business can't survive in a vacuum. Your reputation is thus one of your biggest assets.
Unfortunately, our reputation is not just a product of our own actions, but also the actions of our associates. If we chose to associate with people who are dishonest or low performers, we too might be viewed similarly. It is only natural to assume that birds of a feather will flock together.
 |
| Expertise |
Your reputation is your brand and this is what will attract the investors and customers you will need to make your goals a reality. The wrong associates can permanently damage your good reputation. Associating with the wrong people may very well mean that a great opportunity could easily pass you by.
Believe me, when I say, there is a lot of truth in the saying that it is very lonely at the top. Achieving your goals of being the first or the best in your field will be a lot more enjoyable when you are surrounded by people who are happy to see you succeed.
Associates that refuse to push themselves to do better will easily become jealous of your success and do all they can to demotivate you.
To make matters worse, it is usually the people that are dear to our hearts that often succeed in setting us up to fail. That is why I strongly encourage you to be cautious with the people you let share your dreams.
 |
| Positive Mindset Friends |
Choose the kind of friends that will constantly push you to do better and stay motivated. Associating with the right people will also put you in a position to be at the right place at the right time.
The next blog will expound on how to use this to your advantage.
